I guess we need a second car, but...

[jendbbay]

Okay all you Prius owners who must have some of the same taste and tradeoff making skills that I have, what do I get for our second car? We bought the Prius and of course my husband drives it 80 miles per day. This leaves me without a car, due to having traded in mine to buy the Prius when the insurance coverage on the wrecked 07 was not equal to what we had to spend on the 08. Now I am up and around again and renting cars. Yuck. I'm talking Corollas, Ions, and such. I want a Prius, but my firm limit is around 18k, not 24 or more.

I guess the Corolla will do, but they seem to be stubbornly holding out for 16,500 or more for the LE and it is just no Prius.

Do you all have any miracles up your sleeves such as restored and perfect Prius that might have been in a crash but is perfect?

What other car would you buy? A 2006 Honda Accord?

I value safety, long-term ownership, MPG, and generally speaking, I hate to plow money into a car when we are poised ready to break through to better alternatives.
Some advise would be so welcome.

[qbee42]

Honda Civic or Accord. Both are nice.

Tom

[pmanza]

Jenndbay
I would suggest that you look at the Hyundai Elantra. Ignore the sticker price, here in NoCal, a 17,000 sticker Elantra will sell for 13-14,000 new. Car is fairly loaded, power windows, locks, remote entry, airbags all around, abs, cd and mp3. Manual height adjustable seats, fog lights, lighted vanity mirrors, pretty much everything one needs. The GLS with popular equipment pkg is the way to go. We own 2, one for my dh, and just bought one for my 18 yr old son. Only negative comment I can make about the car is get seat covers, the upholstery is really cheap and stains easily. It gets good gas mileage, dh gets 28-30 mixed and close to 40 highway only. Car is quiet and comfortable. We usually take the Elantra on family trips instead of the Prius.

With all that said, I bought a Prius for myself because I commute in stop and go traffic and the Prius just shines there. And I wanted the techno goodies. But in my opinion, the Hyundai's are currently the best value out there.
Fernsmom

[Joekc]

Our second car is a 2005 Honda Accord. It's a great car, but of course I like the Prius better. If you do get an Accord, get the 4cyl, not the 6. On a recent highway trip I got 34 mpg in the Accord.

[Barcelona Red Lass]

I would never recommend a hyundai, I don't care how little it costs.

What about a Smart Car? Is there a dealer in your area? Or what about a private party sale of a used Prius??

[SW03ES]

Just out of curiosity, why would you never reccomend a Hyundai?

Hyundai is making some great cars nowadays, quality and workmanshio rivals or in some cases is better than Toyota and they're certainly a lot cheaper.

If I were buying something in that range, I would buy a Hyundai.

[miscrms]

Originally Posted by jendbbay

Do you all have any miracles up your sleeves such as restored and perfect Prius that might have been in a crash but is perfect?

I think you're right that a salvage/rebuild is about the only way to get a Prius in that price range right now. Its a big part of why we bought one. Just be really careful who you deal with. With the Prius so popular and commanding such good prices, there are bound to be some shady characters out there cashing in. We bought ours from Steve at the site below. We went out and interviewed him and inspected the shop, and were very impressed (as have others from this site and the phev community been). He's been exclusively rebuilding Priuses for 4-5 years now, and really seems to know his stuff.

Plug In Hybrid Electric Vehicle PHEV

Also be sure you know what you are giving up for the discount. You probably won't be able to get traditional financing (we had to use home equity) and you won't have factory warranty coverage. You want to know that whoever you buy from is going to stand behind their work.

Rob

[Bohous]

Right now you would be "buying high" on a Prius anyway. Demand is high and people are falling all over themselves throwing absurd money at dealers for them.

If the Corolla isn't doing it for you I would echo others who recommend maybe a used Accord or Camry. I have never driven a Hyundai but I've heard positive things about their newer models and they do come with a nice warranty. I'll probably take a beating for this but if I were in your position I would kick the tires on a Malibu as well.

[richard schumacher]

My GF has a Civic. It's quite nice. If you want to spend significantly less, I was also pleasantly surprised by a rental Kia Spectra.

[miscrms]

Originally Posted by Bohous

Right now you would be "buying high" on a Prius anyway. Demand is high and people are falling all over themselves throwing absurd money at dealers for them.

If the Corolla isn't doing it for you I would echo others who recommend maybe a used Accord or Camry. I have never driven a Hyundai but I've heard positive things about their newer models and they do come with a nice warranty. I'll probably take a beating for this but if I were in your position I would kick the tires on a Malibu as well.

Eeeek!

I agree it sucks to try and buy a Prius right now, but things aren't that bad

The Malibu is not a bad car, its the same size, speed, and cost as a Prius. It just uses twice as much gas, and is much higher in emissions (T2B5). While there are some deals on some less efficient cars available, there have been numerous reports/studies on how much more you pay in the long run for fuel, depreciation, maintenance etc.

If I had to buy a small car right now it would be a Fit. Good FE, very roomy for its size/class, good utility with hatchback, Honda reliability, fun to drive, very good reviews and customer satisfaction and still pretty cheap. While you might be tempted to save a few thousand upfront on something like an Aveo, over 5 years CR says the Aveo actually costs $1000 more. So your spending more money on a car that is smaller, less fuel efficient, slower, less reliable, and much worse in reviews and customer satisfaction.

The Corolla and Civic aren't bad either, but I just don't think you get enough space and performance to justify the higher cost and lower mileage compared to the Fit.

Rob